Earth's Materials

Welcome to our Earth's Materials Pathfinder. When using databases, you will need to log in to Moodle to get the user names and passwords.

When using ebooks, all you need to do is click on the Read Online button to start reading. If you need to print something, just click on the page you want to print and the print button will appear.

If you see (audio) next to a source, that means you can listen to and read the information.

Ready? Start Digging!

What are Rocks?




The books below are already linked to the library. All you need to do is click on the Read Online button to start reading. If you need to print something, just click on the page you want to print and the print button will appear.

Rocks

Presents a short study of the various rocks and minerals found in the earth and discusses sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks, how they are formed, man's uses for certain types of rocks, and fossils found in rocks. Recommended for ESL.

The Rock Cycle

Presents an introduction to the rock cycle, the process by which rocks form, break down, and reform over the course of thousands of years, looks at different types of rocks, and examines the forces that cause rocks to change.

Rocks

Simple text and color photos present a basic introduction to rocks, explaining where they are found, what they look like, and how the three types of rock--igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic--form. Recommended for ESL.

Blocks of Rocks

Presents an introduction to the things that are built with rocks, in simple text with illustrations, including information on sources of rock, and describing all the different ways rocks are used in construction, including streets, bridges, sculpture, and buildings.


Databases


Databases are available from our ASW Library page. You will find magazines, newspapers, nonfiction books, dictionaries
and online encyclopedias in the databases.

Check your Moodle classroom page to find the user names and passwords needed to use the databases from home.


mineral-c8i3_small.jpg
http://www.free-pictures-photos.com/minerals/index.htm

Search Terms

Rocks + Minerals--Crystals--Igneous--Sedimentary--Metamorphic--Rock Cycle--Geologist (someone who studies rocks)--Petrology (how rocks are formed)-- Rocks+Collection and preservation--Rocks+Identification

Online Encyclopedia

Online Encyclopedias are a great place to get some basic facts about a topic. They are especially useful when you are beginning a project or you need to find out about something you don't know much about. Go to these online encyclopedias.

Grolier See New Book of Knowledge and New Book of Popular Science

Magazine Articles

To read magazine articles, go to these databases:
Facts for Learning
SIRS Discoverer


Magazine Article to Get Started

Want to learn some basic facts to get started? Here are some good articles:
Rock On!
Rock Hound
Rocks and Minerals


Rocks and Minerals Dictionary

You have got to see this dictionary--lots of rocks, plus great pictures.



Websites

rock.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/rock.html

Rock Hounds with Rocky

A geologist will show you how to collect great rock samples. Includes puzzles, quizzes and how rocks are made.

A Wonderful World of Minerals

This site is created for kids by kids. Learn about different rocks and minerals including gems, birthstones, volcanoes, and many more. Includes games such as rock memory and word searches.

Rocks and Minerals

Rocks are minerals, but not all minerals are rocks- that and other interesting information on this website.

The Adventures of Mineral Man & Rockhound

Fun puzzles to solve, interesting photos, pictures,
and interviews with real rock experts: geologists and earth science professionals.

GeoMysteries

Rex the Dino Detective will help you solve mysteries about rocks, fossils and minerals.
Find out about a rock that floats, little rocks with holes in the middle, and a golden cube!
Scroll through the geologic timeline. The farther you scroll down the page, the farther you'll go back in time. Check the field trip section to get some great tips for studying and collecting rocks.
This site has great photos of rocks, minerals and fossils.

Rocks and Soils

Which rock can float in a beaker of water? Test each of the rocks to find out if it is permeable,
if it wears well, or if it splits. Then, try the other activities to learn about the characteristics
and uses of rocks, and to read about different types of soils. Take the quiz to find out how much you have learned.

Fossweb

Choose a type of rock from the rock database and explore how igneous, sedimentary,
and metamorphic rocks are formed and about their properties.
Click on a rock photograph to get information about each rock. Includes information about minerals.
Play the Doom game that tests your knowledge about the hardness of rocks.

If Rocks Could Talk

If rocks could talk, they would have a story to tell about the history of the Earth.
Interview six rocks to learn about their stories. First up is a meteorite, a rock from another planet that didn't completely burn up travelling through Earth's atmosphere. Next, meet a conglomerate who has travelled through the rock cycle. Greet a piece of granite that was formed five miles beneath the Earth's surface, carried by a giant glacier, and deposited on the ocean floor.

Minerology 4 Kids

Look at minerals in your home and mineral groups, play mineral games, Learn about rock formation, and crystals. If you have a "rocky" question, you can ask a mineralogist.

Uses of Rocks

Find out how people used rocks in the past and how we use rocks now.

Gemstones

Great photos and interesting facts about gemstones.


Games

Identify Rocks Game Can you tell if a rock is igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic? Play this game and find out.


Songs

The Rock Family Listen to a song sung by members of the rock family. Find out which ones belong to Metamorphic, Sedimentary, and Igneous families.